Vasily Alexandrovich Zaitsev

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Vasily Alexandrovich Zaitsev was a Soviet sniper during World War II. He was officially credited with 242 kills. It is estimated that the snipers he had trained killed more than 3000 enemy soldiers. Zaitsev served until 1943, when he suffered an injury to his eyes. After the war, Zaitsev managed a factory in Kiev. Zaitsev's actions during the Battle of Stalingrad are depicted in a fictionalized film, Enemy at the Gates.

Zaitsev grew up in the Ural Mountains and learned marksmanship by shooting deer. Zaitsev means "of hare" in Russian. The snipers he trained were nicknamed zaichata, meaning "leverets" (baby hares).

sl:vasilij Aleksandrovič Zajcev